Can the way you sleep help you live longer? Dr. Breus sits down with Blue Zones explorer and Netflix host Dan Buettner to uncover what the healthiest, longest-lived people on Earth do differently at night.
Expert Sleep Advice, One Episode at a Time
You deserve great sleep. The Sleep Doctor, Michael J. Breus, PhD, is here to help. Season 1 is out now.
In a new podcast from Lemonada Media and Sleep Doctor, Dr. Breus and his expert guests break down key sleep concepts and offer practical advice for the common struggles that keep you up at night. Better in Bed with The Sleep Doctor will leave you with the tools you need to improve your sleep and wake up rested and ready.
Episode 7
Sleep Habits from People Who Live to 100, with Dan Buettner
In this episode
Dr. Breus is joined by Dan Buettner, a National Geographic Fellow, modern-day explorer, and host of the Netflix documentary Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones. The two discuss how centenarians sleep in the world's blue zones (regions with the highest life expectancies), noting that blue zone residents aren't consciously trying to hack their sleep—they simply have routines and environments that naturally promote rest, such as second sleeps, daily naps, and technology-free dark rooms.
Three Big Ideas
Change your environment, not your behavior.
When it comes to building habits for a longer life (or better sleep), willpower and discipline usually fail after a few months. The real secret of people in the blue zones is that they don't try to live longer; they simply react to an environment that naturally fosters health. You must engineer your environment to make good sleep automatic.
Napping is a powerful longevity trick.
In many blue zones, centenarians regularly take naps. Research suggests that taking a nap for at least 20 minutes, five times a week, can lead to roughly a one-third lower rate of cardiovascular disease.
The "second sleep" is a natural human rhythm.
Historically, and in some blue zones today, people go to bed shortly after sunset, wake up in the middle of the night for an hour or two to do light work or activities, and then go back to sleep until dawn. Our modern concept of forcing one compacted 8-hour sleep block is largely a reaction to the invention of the light bulb, not necessarily our biological default.
Three things you can do today
Automate your bedroom temperature.
Don't rely on yourself to remember to cool down your room every night. Use a programmable thermostat to automatically drop the temperature of your bedroom to a cool setting right before your scheduled bedtime.
Eliminate all micro-lights in your bedroom.
Even tiny lights from electronics can disrupt your sleep environment. Go through your bedroom and put tape over any glowing dots, Wi-Fi indicators, or TV standby lights to make the room as dark as possible. Also, invest in high-quality blackout shades or travel with an eye mask.
Use the frozen water bottle trick for mid-night wake-ups.
If you frequently wake up around 3 a.m. feeling hot (which is naturally when your core body temperature begins to rise), place a frozen bottle of water inside a tube sock and tuck it next to your hip. It acts as a mini air conditioner under the covers to help you stay cool and get back to sleep.
Episode 6
Should Couples Sleep in Separate Beds?
Is sleeping in separate beds a red flag for your relationship, or could it save it? Dr. Breus talks with clinical psychologist and sleep scientist Dr. Wendy Troxel (author of Sharing the Covers) about sleep divorce, snoring resentment, sleep apnea stigma, and a toddler who's taken over the marital bed.
In this episode
Dr. Breus sits down with clinical psychologist and relationship researcher Dr. Wendy Troxel to discuss the complicated dynamic of couples and sleep. They dive into the societal stigmas around couples choosing to sleep in separate beds and explore how poor sleep quality (like dealing with a snoring partner) can build hidden resentment. Dr. Troxel explains why we need to view sleep not just as a biological function, but as a critical social behavior, and offers strategies for how couples can protect their sleep and their intimacy.
Three big ideas
Sleeping apart does not mean your relationship is failing.
Societal assumptions have deeply conflated sharing a bed with intimacy and a healthy relationship. Historically, sleeping apart was completely normal (and even a sign of prestige). Couples who intentionally sleep apart can still maintain strong emotional and physical intimacy, and often get along much better because they aren't sleep-deprived.
Untreated sleep issues breed resentment in a relationship.
When one partner’s sleep habits (like snoring) keep the other partner awake, and the issue is laughed off or minimized, it feels invalidating to the sleep-deprived partner. This dynamic is a fast track to building resentment. Sleep apnea shouldn't be treated as an individual issue—it's a couple's issue. It is "our sleep," not just his or her sleep.
Children naturally crave social sleep, but parents must align on boundaries.
It is biologically and evolutionarily natural for a child to want to sleep with their parents because humans are social beings and proximity to an attachment figure provides security. However, if co-sleeping isn't working for the parents, they must be completely united in their goals and values regarding their child's sleep.
Three practical things you can do today
Treat separate sleeping arrangements as an experiment.
If one partner is resistant to sleeping apart because they fear it will damage the relationship, take the pressure off by treating it as a temporary data-gathering experiment. Try it for just a couple of nights a week. Often, couples find they don't drift apart and can actually pinpoint the real root of their sleep problems.
Include the bed partner in sleep apnea treatment.
If one partner has sleep apnea and is prescribed a CPAP machine, the bed partner needs to be part of the adjustment process. A leaky, noisy machine can be just as disruptive as snoring. By involving the partner, they can help communicate with the provider to find better solutions (like a different mask or an oral appliance) rather than letting the treatment become another wedge between them.
Discuss child sleep strategies outside of the bedroom.
If a toddler is interrupting your sleep by coming into your bed, do not argue about boundaries in the middle of the night while sleep-deprived. Parents need to sit down during the day to align their specific goals (e.g., agreeing that the goal is not just sleeping through the night, but sleeping through the night in their own bed) and provide the child with consistent, predictable rules.
Episode 5
Morning Habits to Rewire Your Brain with Jim Kwik
Ever wonder what your brain is actually doing while you sleep? In this episode, Dr. Michael Breus sits down with legendary brain coach Jim Kwik — who also happens to be his former sleep patient — to break down the powerful link between sleep and brain performance.
In this episode
Dr. Breus and brain coach Jim Kwik discuss the connection between sleep and cognitive performance. Jim shares his personal journey of overcoming severe sleep apnea and how addressing his sleep deprivation was life-changing for his brain health. Drawing from Jim's new book, Limitless Daily, they emphasize the importance of adopting a "mind before media" approach, explaining how protecting your mornings from technology and setting intentional habits can literally rewire your brain for better focus, mood, and long-term success.
Three big ideas
Sleep is the foundational hardware for all cognitive function.
No matter how many memory techniques, speed-reading strategies, or focus hacks you learn, they will all fail if your brain lacks sleep. Lack of sleep impairs every physiological and performance ability. Think of sleep as a hardware issue, while cognitive strategies are the software; you can't run good software on a broken machine.
Sleep inertia is a powerful window of potential.
When you first wake up, your brain is transitioning from a sleeping to a waking state. During this time, your working memory is like a blank whiteboard—no tabs are open yet. The mental inputs you allow into your brain during the first 15 to 45 minutes of the day have a disproportionate influence on your mood, focus, and the lens through which you view the rest of your day.
Your phone wires your brain for distraction and reaction.
If you look at your phone first thing in the morning, you are immediately inviting hundreds of strangers into your head to dictate your thoughts. This trains your brain to seek cheap dopamine and puts you on the defensive, reacting to other people's emergencies and agendas rather than proactively setting your own intentions.
Three practical things you can do today
Adopt a mind-before-media morning routine.
Protect your attention fiercely for the first 30 minutes of the day. Do not look at screens, emails, or social media. Instead, use this blank slate time for attentional priming: meditate, read, practice gratitude, exercise, or get natural sunlight.
Use the time-travel exercise before getting out of bed.
Before you open your eyes in the morning, fast forward to the end of the day. Imagine coming back to bed and someone asking you, "How was your day?" Imagine yourself genuinely replying, "Today was amazing. I crushed it." Then, ask yourself: What had to happen today for me to feel that way? This helps you set a clear, proactive compass for your daily actions.
Test your nighttime scrolling habits with the 3-hour rule.
Many people justify doom-scrolling or binge-watching late at night by saying they need time to relax. If you find yourself staying up 2 to 3 hours late looking at screens, ask yourself: Would I wake up 3 hours earlier tomorrow morning just to do this exact activity? If the answer is no, it's not actually restorative—it's just sleep procrastination. Put the phone away and get to sleep.
Episode 4
Know Your Chronotype, Own Your Day
In this episode of his podcast, Dr. Michael J. Breus dives deep into chronotypes — the individual biological patterns that determine when we naturally wake, sleep, and perform at our best. He breaks down your ideal sleep schedule depending on whether you’re a bear, lion, wolf, or dolphin. Plus, the optimal timing for naps, exercise, and work tasks.
In this episode
Three big ideas
Chronotypes are biological, not just lifestyle preferences.
Sleep is governed by two separate systems: your sleep drive and your circadian rhythm. Your specific chronotype—whether you are an early-bird "Lion," a middle-of-the-road "Bear," a night-owl "Wolf," or an insomniac "Dolphin"—is determined by the unique timing of your core body temperature changes and the balance between your cortisol and melatonin hormones. This is actually tied to your genetics.
The "eight hours of sleep" rule doesn't apply to everyone.
Different chronotypes have entirely different sleep cycle requirements. Lions and Bears typically go through five 90-minute sleep cycles (putting them in bed for almost 8 hours), while Wolves and Dolphins usually only need four cycles. This means Wolves and Dolphins only need to be in bed for roughly 6 hours and 40 minutes to get a full night's rest.
You can optimize your entire day by mapping tasks to your biology.
Knowing your chronotype isn't just about sleep; it allows you to optimize when you exercise, nap, and tackle difficult cognitive work. For instance, your pain tolerance and muscle strength peak at specific times depending on your type, making a 6 p.m. strength workout ideal for a Dolphin, but terrible for an early-rising Lion who usually needs to train in the morning or early afternoon.
Three practical things you can do today
Anchor your wake-up time seven days a week.
Regardless of your chronotype, the single most important rule for better rest is to maintain the exact same wake-up time every day. This consistency reinforces your circadian rhythm and is particularly critical for Dolphins (the insomniacs) to reduce sleep-related anxiety and arousals.
Use the adaptation algorithm to make realistic schedule tweaks.
You don't have to overhaul your entire life or quit your 9-to-5 to accommodate your chronotype. Start by making sure you have one consistent wake-up anchor, fiercely protect one peak performance window during the day for your hardest work, and schedule one daily recovery break (like a brief walk outside for sunshine).
Tailor your morning routine to your specific type's weaknesses.
Stop forcing yourself into a generic routine. If you are a Wolf, make your first hour awake a no-brilliance-required hour. Avoid scheduling complex meetings right away and get immediate sunlight to halt your lingering melatonin production. If you are an anxious Dolphin, use light movement like air squats as morning medicine to burn off nervous energy. If you are a go-getter Lion, use breakfast as a social hour so you don't accidentally isolate yourself from your family by charging straight into work mode.
Episode 3
Safe Ways to Use Psychedelics for Sleep with Mollie Eastman
In this episode, Dr. Breus and sleep expert and Sleep Is A Skill founder, Mollie Eastman, discuss unconventional and alternative treatments for sleep anxiety and insomnia. These include psychedelics, cannabis, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Insomnia (ACT-I) for those who struggle with traditional therapies.
In this episode
Mollie shares her personal battle with severe sleep anxiety, a journey that initially resulted in heavy pharmaceutical use before she sought alternative healing methods. The conversation explores how addressing underlying psychological trauma and nervous system dysregulation can fix the root causes of insomnia rather than just treating the symptoms. The two dive into the potential of psilocybin when used in a safe, professionally guided environment, the specific ratios of THC, CBD, and CBN to use for sleep without disrupting REM cycles, and how releasing the intense desire to control your sleep might be the key to finally getting some rest.
Three big ideas
- Psychedelics may address root causes of insomnia. While not for everyone, guided psychedelic journeys can help resolve underlying psychological trauma and nervous system hypervigilance. Mollie noted this led to measurable improvements in her Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and overall sleep quality.
- Cannabis requires careful formulation for sleep: Modern cannabis is highly potent, and taking in too much THC can actually increase heart rate and disrupt REM sleep. A small, controlled dose of THC combined with CBN and CBD is generally more effective for reducing anxiety without causing a disruptive high.
- ACT-I is a great alternative to CBT-I for overthinkers: For people whose perfectionism and anxiety are worsened by the strict rules of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I), ACT-I offers a better path by teaching patients to accept wakefulness rather than obsessively trying to control it.
Three practical things you can do
- Optimize your cannabis dosage: If exploring cannabis for sleep, avoid high-THC products or smoking arbitrary strains from a dispensary. Dr. Breus suggests a specific, low-dose blend, such as a gummy with roughly 3 mg of THC, 5 mg of CBN, and some CBD to calm anxiety without disrupting sleep architecture.
- Shift your mindset regarding wakefulness: If you wake up in the middle of the night, practice acceptance instead of spiraling into performance anxiety or obsessing over how many minutes have passed. Remember that trying to force sleep often makes it harder to get.
- Ensure strict safety and screening for alternative treatments: Do not self-medicate with psychedelics. If you are considering them for trauma or sleep, utilize vetted, legal organizations that provide medical screening, psychological preparation courses, and post-journey integration support.
Episode 2
Eat This Before Bed For Great Sleep with Mona Sharma
What if getting better sleep was as simple as the last meal you ate before bed? In a lot of ways, it is! Dr. Michael J. Breus speaks with celebrity nutritionist Mona Sharma about when to eat dinner based on your bedtime, the best meals to set you up for sleep success, and what to do when that inevitable sweet tooth emerges.
In this episode
The big idea: Nourishment, not just nutrition
Mona's approach, shaped by years living at an ashram, treats wellness as four connected pillars: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Instead of handing clients a rigid meal plan, she asks a simple guiding question every day: does this nourish me, or deplete me? That applies to food, but also to conversations, screen time, and sleep itself — she notes people already intuitively know when they've had a "nourishing" night's sleep versus a "depleting" one.
Food timing is everything
Your organs run on a circadian clock just like your brain does, so consistency in meal timing matters as much as what's on the plate. The recommendation: Finish eating at least three hours before bed, so digestion (which takes real energy) wraps up before your body needs to shift into rest-and-restore mode. Mona also suggests front-loading your biggest, most protein-heavy meal earlier in the day, with dinner lighter and more plant-focused.
Building a sleep-friendly plate
Mona's formula for dinner: roughly half the plate as fiber-rich plant carbs (leaning toward 30–40g of fiber a day, well above the average American's intake), a palm-sized portion of protein (animal or plant, based on what makes your body feel good), and healthy fats like olive oil, avocado, or ghee. Eating protein and vegetables before starchy carbs can help blunt a blood sugar spike.
Evening rituals matter as much as food
Beyond meals, Mona emphasizes "bookending" the day with grounding rituals — morning sunlight and hydration, and an evening wind-down that might include a shower, self-massage with oil (a practice called Abhyanga), dim lighting, and breathwork. She's a fan of extending the exhale longer than the inhale to shift into the parasympathetic ("rest and digest") state, and often guides clients through a slow 4-4-6-4 or 4-4-8-4 breathing pattern before bed.
Five practical steps you can try tonight
1. Eat dinner earlier. Aim for at least a 3-hour gap between your last bite and bedtime — even pushing dinner back by 30–60 minutes can help.
2. Rebuild your plate. Half fiber-rich vegetables, a palm-sized portion of protein, and a drizzle of healthy fat (like olive oil) — with veggies and protein eaten before any starch.
3. Take a 15–20 minute walk after dinner. It helps stabilize blood sugar and gets you outside as light dims, cueing melatonin production.
4. If you want something sweet, keep it simple. Try a date with almond butter, or a spoon of honey drizzled with cold-pressed olive oil — and keep all food out of the bedroom.
5. Create a wind-down ritual. A warm shower, dim lights, and a few minutes of slow breathing (inhale 4, hold 4, exhale 6–8, hold 4) signal your nervous system that it's time to sleep.
Episode 1
Why Menopause Destroys Your Sleep — And How to Fix It with Dr. Vonda Wright
Did you know that menopause technically only lasts one day? Tell that to your sleep! Dr. Breus and double-board certified orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Vonda Wright explain why you experience irregular, unpredictable sleep during perimenopause and menopause. They dig into brain chemistry, hormone replacement therapy, hot flashes, restless leg syndrome, and supplements.
In this episode
Why perimenopause feels chaotic
Dr. Wright explains that the root cause of perimenopause is when our ovaries "age out" long before the rest of the body, sometimes starting as early as 35. As the ovaries run low on eggs, estrogen production becomes wildly unpredictable. Because our bodies crave stability, this hormonal seesaw shows up as disrupted sleep, anxiety, brain fog, and a shorter fuse, often before hot flashes even appear. She coined the term "menolescence" to capture how much this hormonal upheaval mirrors adolescence — a comparison that hits especially hard for women going through it while also parenting an actual teenager.
Practical fixes for common complaints
- Restless legs / can't-stay-asleep issues: Check ferritin levels (not just standard iron), consider adjusting HRT dosage since absorption varies, and try magnesium (glycinate or L-threonate forms).
- Night sweats: Address root-cause estrogen levels first; medications like Veozah can help when needed. Cooling (or in Dr. Wright's case, brief warming) mattress technology can also make a real difference — a short warm-up before bed actually supports the temperature drop that triggers melatonin.
- Nighttime bathroom trips (nocturia): Sip rather than gulp liquids before bed, and — this one surprised even Dr. Breus — try to stay as "unconscious" as possible during a bathroom trip: no lights, minimal movement, so you don't spike your heart rate or shut down melatonin production.
- Sleep apnea risk: Apnea risk rises significantly after menopause due to weight gain and age-related collagen loss in throat tissue (the same collapse that causes facial wrinkles happens internally too). Dr. Breus notes CPAP isn't the only option — oral appliances can be an effective alternative.
Five practical steps you can try tonight
- Sip, don't chug, any liquids before bed — including water taken with supplements — to reduce nighttime bathroom trips.
- If you wake to use the bathroom, keep it dark and groggy. Avoid turning on lights or fully waking up, to protect your melatonin and keep your heart rate low.
- Try warming up before bed, not just cooling down. A brief warming period (like a heated blanket for 15 minutes) can actually help trigger the temperature drop that signals sleep.
- Take magnesium glycinate before bed if you're not already, to support relaxation and sleep onset.
- Make sleep the priority, not the afterthought. As Dr. Wright puts it, commit to sleep as more important than the dishes, the dog, or tomorrow's to-do list.
Learn more about Dr. Vonda Wright at drvondawright.com and on Youtube and Instagram.
Biography
About Dr. Michael Breus, PhD
Michael J. Breus, Ph.D., is both a double boarded Clinical Psychologist and a Clinical Sleep Specialist. He has the distinction of also being a Diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine and a Fellow of The American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
Dr. Breus is the author of five non-fiction books, with his newest (2025), Sleep, Drink, Breathe: Wellness is Too Complicated, giving an easy-to-follow 3-week program to teach people how simple biobehaviors are the foundation for wellness.
Dr. Breus has been both consultant and lecturer for brands and organizations like Hastens, Purple Mattress, OURA Ring, Princess Cruise Lines, Advil PM, Breathe Rite, Crowne Plaza Hotels, Merck (Belsomra), BOSE, iHome, Young Presidents Organization, AT&T, Tony Robbins (Unleash the Power), hospitals and medical centers, financial organizations, and many more. Dr. Breus has been in private practice as a sleep doctor for nearly 25 years and currently lives in Hermosa Beach, California.
Featured in
Sleep products backed by Dr. Breus
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Sleep Doctor Home Sleep Study: Clinical-level, affordable sleep analysis from the comfort of your own bed
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Orion Sleep System: Active temperature regulation technology for your mattress to maintain an optimal sleep environment
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The Power of When: A book by Dr. Breus about chronotypes and learning to interpret them for different daily activities.
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NextSense Smart Ear Buds: These ear buds use EEG sensors to detect deep sleep and deliver gentle sound pulses to enhance restorative sleep.
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Sleep Doctor Sleep Coaching: A structured coaching program designed to identify what's disrupting your nights, and show you how to fix it
